8 A Crystal Throne (1/2)

No longer floating in the center of the bathing pool, An Fei found herself in a crystal throne room.

The walls, the floor, even the ceiling was made of a translucent, sky blue crystal that pulsed with a soft glow. The entire room was massive, and she estimated it to be thirty meters in width and height, and a hundred meters in length.

However, what irked her curiosity was that she couldn't find a single light source, yet the entire room was alight with a dim, comfortable golden glow.

No torches, no chandeliers, no braziers releasing light, nothing. Her gaze scanning the entire throne room, An Fei inadvertently looked downwards, her eyelashes fluttering in surprise.

”Oh…”

The ground was the source of the room's illumination. More specifically, the ground where her body lay slumped was awash with the soft golden light.

When An Fei reached out and tapped the crystal floor with her index finger, the sky blue crystal warmed to the touch, eliciting a soft sigh of comfort from the girl. As she continued staring at where her finger touched the ground, she found the frequency of the crystal's pulsing increase drastically, gradually transforming into the golden light.

Squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head twice, An Fei slowly rose into an unstable standing position, opening her eyes only when she found herself sufficiently rooted to the ground.

Quietly grumbling to herself about her now deficient physical ability, she craned her neck as she properly surveyed the throne room, more particularly, the actual throne itself.

The throne was similarly of the sky blue crystal, and An Fei could only call it quite an uncomfortable chair from a single glance. Other than multiple inscriptions racing throughout the length of the seat and arms of the throne, she couldn't find anything relatively spectacular.

Raising her gaze upwards, she could see that the inscriptions extended towards the ceiling, crisscrossing across the entire roof of the throne room. The weird markings were similar to the circuit boards that she had seen inside computer chips in the previous world, branching out into subsidiary segments that continued the process. Only, what did they entail?

Tentatively walking over to the crystal seat, An Fei stroked the smooth surface, watching the crystal pulsate and transform into the golden light she had previously seen. It was just that this time, the girl was taken aback in surprise.

”Huh…a box?”

Right before the soft glow appeared before her eyes, the surface of the armrest split apart, revealing a wooden box held within. Reaching with both hands to extricate the box to inspect it, An Fei discovered that the box was of blackwood, intricate carvings of leaves decorating the sides.

”…my heart…”

For an unknown reason, An Fei could feel a bitter sourness filling her nose as she stared at the box, her heartbeat beginning to accelerate. Raising her right hand to the rectangular box's lid, she opened it with trembling fingers.

When the contents were finally revealed, she discovered her vision threatening to mist over.

Held within was a letter, and an aged book underneath.

Picking up the letter and unfolding the creased paper, the girl finally broke into tears upon seeing the familiar handwriting. The rigid brushstrokes, each emitting a dull straightforward character with a hidden elegance, were once again burned into her memory.

As she stared at the letter, An Fei could envision memories of her past, the sacred and happy times she cherished with her might.

”By the time you read…this…I will have long since perished,” she read amongst choked sobs, her voice threatening to break.

”Xiang Yang has lived…a fulfilling life…one of eternal memories, sorrows…and joys. The …I…pass to you…Take good care of your health…and don't wallow…in sorrow. The heart of the …is underneath.”

Picking up the book, An Fei continued to read the letter, tears dripping onto the writing. As she read, the book held in her right hand seemed to become heavier, then lighter.

”…is for those with a weak body…to repair the overabundance of Yin. To prepare for your arrival…I searched for a compatible…shell to house your soul, but…deficits couldn't be avoided. Practice the well and live…my Fei'er…Xiang Yang's granddaughter…Signed, Protector Xiang…”

Carefully folding the letter and clutching it and the book to her chest, An Fei dropped to her knees as she sobbed.